5 New Netflix Movies We’re Excited About This Fall

Michaela Bechler
Updated
New fall original Netflix movies have been announced. We picked five we’re excited about, from documentaries to thrillers.

While the end of summer seems light-years away in this heat wave, unfortunately it’s right around the corner. But with a new season comes, thankfully, new movies, including a brand-new batch of Netflix originals. From documentaries to star-studded dramas, the streaming service does not disappoint with its long list of fall films, which it has shared with us. How can the average Netflix-and-chill–er ever choose? So we made it a little easier for you to, and picked some of the movies we’re excited about. Below, the five Netflix originals we’re looking forward to streaming this fall:

Quincy (September 21)

Directed by Rashida Jones and Alan Hicks, Quincy gives watchers an intimate look into Quincy Jones’s life (Rashida is his daughter). Jones, whose hilarious Vulture interview went viral earlier this year, is an icon: A 79-time Grammy Award nominee, Jones has brought home 27 of them and helped foster the careers of other luminaries from Oprah Winfrey to Will Smith. The documentary feature shows private archival footage of Jones and will first premiere at next month’s Toronto International Film Festival.

Private Life (October 5)

Paul Giamatti and Kathryn Hahn join forces as a middle-aged couple trying to keep their marriage afloat in Private Life, which was directed and written by Academy Award nominee Tamara Jenkins. Coping with fertility issues and the economic and emotional upheaval of in vitro fertilization, the pair seems to have exhausted all options. Things begin to turn around when Sadie (played by Kayli Carter), a college drop out, reenters their life.

The Kindergarten Teacher (October 12)

Maggie Gyllenhaal shines in this psychological thriller that she also helped produce. Directed by Sara Colangelo, Gyllenhaal stars as Lisa Spinelli, a kindergarten teacher who overhears Jimmy, one of her 5-year-old students, reciting an original poem and becomes convinced that he is a prodigy. The film gets darker as she becomes obsessed with Jimmy and his talent, going so far as to abduct him. The Kindergarten Teacher will launch on Netflix in the U.S. and Canada, as well as have a limited theatrical release.

Feminists: What Were They Thinking? (October 12)

A photo-book from the ’70s is brought to life in this Netflix documentary. Some of the women (many of them famous and sans clothing) who were photographed during feminism’s second wave return to be interviewed in Feminists: What Were They Thinking? about the era and their experiences. From Gloria Steinem to Grace and Frankie’s Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin, the women consider our current culture, and urge continued progress toward gender equality.

Bird Box (December 21)

A thriller directed by Academy Award winner Susanne Bier lands on the streaming service at the end of the year. Bird Box is about a mother fleeing with her children in the wake of an unknown global terror. Due to unseen deadly forces, the journey must be completed blindly. The flick stars Sandra Bullock, Trevante Rhodes, Sarah Paulson, and John Malkovich.

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